15. Boston

16. Nashville

It sounded like a classic success story in the making: A young girl with a big voice gets discovered by a major record label. But instead of coasting to a life fame and fortune like she may have expected, the label balked, and Alexz Johnson's music career needed a kickstart to finally get on the right track.

In days past, it would have been incredibly auspicious for a musician like Johnson to score two major record deals by age 21. The Canadian soul pop singer signed to Capitol Records at age 18 and switched to Sony's Epic Records at 21.

But from Napster to Spotify, the digital revolution has upended the music industry. The theme for all involved since the turn of the century has been simple — adapt or fail.

So that's just what Johnson did, she adapted. She spent five frustrating years trying to accomplish her dreams by partnering with major labels, but because of internal personnel shakeups, both companies put Johnson's music on the back burner. Then, she did what any enterprising, talented and social media savvy millennial would do, took matters into her own hands.

"I had been waiting for so long, I felt like I was just constantly waiting for other people to press go on my career," Johnson tells Mashable. "This crowdfunding thing, for artists who have been through the major label waiting game, is really amazing."

Johnson launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund her first U.S. tour. Though she needed $32,000, she set the goal at $30,000 out of fear of failure. To her great surprise, the backers lined up, and within 24 hours she met her goal.

When the campaign ended in March 2012, Johnson had amassed nearly $70,000 in contributions. She used the money to rent a van and provide accommodations for her bandmates, touring throughout the summer.

Buoyed by her crowdfunding and touring success, Johnson is hitting the road again. She kicked off an 18-date tour with a show at New York's Highline Ballroom on Thursday.

For her first tour, crowdfunding supported her concerts. This time around, it's reversed. She is using her tour to promote her Pledge Music campaign, which she is hoping will fund her next album.

Johnson's success helps build the case that the major record label oligarchy is slipping. Free online publishing, social media outreach and crowdfunding is democratizing the music industry.

"I should have been doing this forever ago," Johnson says. "Why did I go the major label route?"

While Johnson has described the outcome as "inspirational," her path was filled with highs and lows. It's not like anyone who can strum a guitar can put a video on Kickstarter and harvest thousands of dollars. You need a significant fan base. Here's how Johnson got to that point.

An 'Instant Star' Is Born

Johnson was born in British Columbia, Canada, one of the middle children in a family of 10.

Her vocal talent became apparent at a very early. She sang the Canadian National Anthem at Vancouver Grizzles and Canucks games when she was just 11.

Though she performed and wrote music from a young age, her first major breakthrough came as an actress. At age 13, Johnson landed a role on the Disney Channel show "So Weird." The role entailed singing, which was right up her alley. She even wrote a song for the show.

At age 17, she landed her most notable acting gig as Jude Harrison, the lead role in the CTV show "Instant Star." Again, Johnson sang and wrote songs specifically for her character throughout the show's four-season run from 2004 to 2008. Somewhat ironically, the show is about a teenage singer who wins a competition and becomes the eponymous instant star — a storyline that once seemed like rough parallel of Johnson's actual music career.

For her role on "Instant Star," Johnson won a Gemini Award, the Canadian version of an Emmy, for "Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series" in 2008. While her acting career was developing, Johnson was constantly pushing to further her career as a musician.

"Music is so much more expressive of what I want to say," she says. "And I feel more passionate about writing and being on stage and performing with a band."

Johnson described both of her major label experiences as derailed by corporate shakeups. Basically, the people who signed her lost their jobs or moved on, and when new hires took their places, Johnson's music got lost in the shuffle.

She even recorded a full album with multiple Grammy-nominated producer Greg Wells. Despite a significant financial investment from Epic, the label decided not to release the record.

At that point it was 2010 — Johnson had been grappling with these labels for more than five years. She decided to go back to Canada and record an album produced by her brother Brenden Johnson, with whom she often collaborated on songwriting.

She released the album, called "Voodoo," on an independent Canadian label in March 2010. The label could not provide financial backing for promotion, distribution or touring, so the album did not go anywhere.

Johnson decided to move to Brooklyn, NY to "start over the authentic way" and "pay [her] dues."

While continuing to land smaller acting roles, she recorded a five-song EP titled "Skipping Stone." Hoping to support her new EP with a tour, Johnson put out the call for funding on Kickstarter. Fans from throughout her career lined up in support.

One backer even contributed $5,000, for which Johnson played a private show in the person's living room.

"It was very personal, it was kind of my most nerve racking show," Johnson says. "They paid five grand, this better be a good damn show."

The Anti-Glamour Pop Singer

Even though she looks and sounds similar to what you might expect from a pop star, that's not at all how Johnson views or carries herself.

One of Johnson's close friends, Jessica Earnshaw, went on the Kickstarter-funded tour and chronicled it through a Tumblr blog titled "Alexz on Tour." Johnson described the photos and videos in the blog as "anti-glamour."

"I want people to really see what it's like to be a musician — the work that goes into it, the blood sweat and tears," she says. "I want to show people what it's really like."

The blog's content not only shows Johnson performing in front of her fans, it also depicts the rougher side of a touring musician's life. Photos show Johnson traveling in her touring van, meeting with young fans, sitting through sound checks hours before shows, warming up backstage before shows and sitting at a bar looking tired at the end of a long night.

A sampling of the Earnshaw's pictures appear in a gallery at the top of this post. Below is a video from the Alexz on Tour blog in which Johnson goofs around with her bandmates writing a song called "Puppy On Your Shoulder."

Johnson has been able to use the Internet to galvanize her fan base. She manages her own social media accounts and raises her own money to fund her projects.

At the time this story was published, after two days of her campaign she had raised about 20% of the funds she needs to make her next album. She has 60 days left to meet her goal.

Johnson has yet to break through to the mainstream on the scale of major label supported pop artists such as Adele, Katy Perry, or even fellow Canadian Celine Dion. And while it's feasible for underground or indie bands to climb the ladder without the help of major labels, it's an uncommon feat for a pop singer.

If she does eventually achieve mainstream fame, Johnson could be considered a democratically selected star and take her place among the YouTube sensations and others harbingers to the future of pop music stardom.

BONUS: 10 Kickass Kickstarter Projects From 2012

10 Kickass Kickstarter Projects From 2012

Singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer spent four years writing a record and putting her band together. Formerly part of the Dresden Dolls duo, Palmer broke away from a major record label to do her own thing.

The album, supported by Kickstarter, was the first million-dollar music project on the platform. It debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Charts a few months later.

ArduSat is a tiny satellite that weighs no more than 1kg, but it has made a huge impact on the future of space research. Created by NanoSatisfi, this Kickstarter project went well beyond its $35,000 goal in just one month.

The project has democratized space exploration, making it feasible for anyone to run his own space experiment, depending on how many pledges he gets.

Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about after-school programs' effects on kids, teachers and schools. Production company Rescue Media relied on Kickstarter since the beginning of its creative inception in 2010, then again in 2011, when it was finishing the film.

The award-winning film was already going to theaters in 2012, but the budget did not ensure the film would reach the very community it was intended for. Naturally, the team asked Kickstarter and the community came through once again. The film went on to show in 200 theaters across the country, and viewers who needed transportation to the screening were accommodated.

This was a particularly groundbreaking year for gamers on Kickstarter. One of the most important projects, Double Fine Adventure became the first multi-million dollar video game campaign.

The game reached its $400,000 goal in less than 24 hours, making it one of the fastest-funded projects on Kickstarter. Gamers suddenly realized their ideas were viable, and more campaigns like the ones for OUYA and Shadowrun Returns had the opportunity to shine.

An iPhone-friendly wristwatch, another seemingly simple concept, nonetheless blew up overnight. The makers at Pebble Technology had a modest $100,000 goal, but reached $1 million in a little more than a day.

3D printing is no longer just for architects and prototypes. Design duo Mary Huang and Jenna Fizel, co-founders of Continuum Fashion, want to help fashion lovers create custom garments by using an app. Every design is uniquely made to order.

Continuum used Kickstarter to host a private beta. Any pledge amount gave users priority access to the service.

In 2009, when Daniel Mustard was homeless, his cover of Radiohead's "Creep" went viral on YouTube. Mustard told Mashable the exposure gave him back his will to live.

Mustard lauched a Kickstarter project in July to pay for the cost of producing and distributing an EP. Most of the songs were inspired by his tribulations. The musician is no longer homeless, having found temporary access at shelters and using the Internet to mingle with fans at Apple stores.

The Elevation Dock was a simple concept with one main mission: to make docking an iPhone as seamless as possible, especially when the device is in a case.

This was obviously a common problem among iPhone users. Designer Casey Hopkins and ElevationLab were the first million-dollar project on Kickstarter. And the dock set the bar for high-quality craftsmanship.

Online advertising has changed drastically from late '90s standards. Penny Arcade, one of the most popular gaming webcomics currently online, realized that web banners were no longer cutting it.

The site used Kickstarter to replace ad revenue with crowdfunding. The leaderboard on the homepage would be removed if they reached the minimum goal of $250,000, expanding to even more ad removal throughout the site as it surpassed higher goals.

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